Amy Cooper, the white woman who went viral last year for accusing a Black birdwatcher of threatening her in Central Park, has sued her former employer for firing her after the incident.
According to Bloomberg, Cooper filed a complaint against Franklin Templeton, where she worked from June 2015 to May 2020, in Manhattan federal court Tuesday, alleging that the company didn’t conduct an investigation before firing her.
“Plaintiff’s personal and professional life has been destroyed by the knowingly false statements defendants made,” the complaint read. “Franklin Templeton perpetuated and legitimized the story of ‘Karen’ vs. an innocent African American to its perceived advantage, with reckless disregard for the destruction of Plaintiff’s life in the process.”
Cooper, 41, is seeking unspecified damages for race and gender discrimination, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.
The lawsuit arrives exactly a year after the incident took place.
Last May, a video from Christian Cooper showed Amy Cooper threatening to call the police after he requested she put her dog on a leash.
“I’m gonna tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life,” she said in the clip, while Christian could be heard calmly telling her the area of the park requires dogs to be leashed.
A day after the confrontation took place, Franklin Templeton fired Cooper, saying it did not condone racism.
